lefield, but, somehow,
Mr. Geach had secured for himself the largest share. The business was
now carefully looked after, and began to recover itself. All at once
came the "railway mania" of 1844 and 1845, when all England went mad
for a time. George Hudson, the linen draper of York, from whom I once
took an order in his little shop near the Cathedral, was then the
most notable man in the country. He soon became known as the "Railway
King," and, as he was presumed to have the faculty of transforming
everything into gold, he was _feted_ and almost worshipped by all
classes of society. Under the excitement created by visions of untold
wealth derived from making railways, iron rapidly rose in price to
double its recent value. Mr. Geach at this time, I am able to state
upon competent living authority, "took three orders for 30,000 tons of
railroad iron, at L12, which did not cost over L6 per ton." This laid
the foundation of Mr. Geach's marvellous success, and from this period
he commenced to identify himself with large enterprises, until at
length he was associated with some of the most important mercantile
transactions of the period.

About this time there was living at Wednesbury an eccentric
Independent Minister named Hardy. He is still remembered there for
his extraordinary fancy for preaching about the "seven golden
candlesticks." When he took this topic for a sermon, his hearers knew
that for six or seven Sundays at least he would speak of nothing else.
And, lest his hearers should not be duly impressed with the subject,
his practice was never to go more than a year or two without going
over the whole ground anew. This worthy minister was somewhat of a
mechanic, and in connection with a coach-axle maker named Rollason,
the plan was conceived of "faggoting" bars of iron radially round
a centre-bar, so that the laminae of the iron should range like the
concentric rings in a tree. The chief difficulty was the necessity
of rolling the axles before they could be hammered. Mr. Dodd, of the
Horseley Works, showed how this could be done by a reversing action,
and Mr. Hardy patented both processes. Mr. H. Wright, who was
afterwards a partner in the works, tells me that he assisted to draw
up the specifications. Money being wanted to work the concern, a small
private company was formed with a capital of L2,000. Mr. Hardy was
manager, and Mr. T. Walker was clerk. This company was carried on for
about two years, when, becoming i